Chapter Three.
Darkness. That's what Ginny awoke to. She tossed and turned trying to figure out where she was through the gloom. As her head finally cleared through its own fog, she remembered her wand stuck in the secret pocket in her robes. She pulled it out, but before she said the spell, she decided it wouldn't be a good idea. She didn't want to alert anyone to her being there, in case she was in an alternate world. Instead, she felt around the table beside her to see if there were matches sitting on it. Frustrated, she sat up and finally reached a small pack. She lit one and ignited the candle next to it.
The small room she was in filled with a dull light. She was still in Regulus' old room, the same place where she took that horrible tasting potion. But where was Luna? Ginny chose her to accompany her on this trip, but she wasn't anywhere to be found. She hoped nothing wrong happened. For all she knew she was still in her own world.
Deciding it was time to get up off her arse and do some looking to find out what was going on, she got up off the dusty bed. She cringed in pain; her whole body was stiff as a board. How long had she been up here? Judging by the pains in her stomach, she had been there for quite some time. She made it down to the kitchen without seeing anyone. Or even signs of anyone.
That's when she realized she had to be in an alternate world, because otherwise the house would be packed with the order. She sat down at the kitchen table for a minute, just to gather her thoughts. She knew that Luna wasn't with her, and she didn't know why. She knew the house was empty, and no one had been there for quite some time, judging by the dust on everything. Truth be told, she had no idea what to do at this point. She thought about what Dumbledore had said about going to Hogwarts, but she wasn't even sure she'd be welcomed. What if she had been a known death eater here?
Not wanting to risk using magic, she rose out of her chair and began lighting some of the candles in the room using some the matches she found in Regulus' room. When she did, she noticed at one end of the table laid some discarded daily prophet newspapers. She reached for the newspapers and blew off their layers of dust. The top headline caught her attention:
Severus Snape Confirmed As Hogwarts Headmaster
"What?" Ginny exclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the mute house. She clapped a hand over her mouth and sat still for a couple of minutes before resuming her reading.
"Long standing potions master?" Ginny read aloud to herself. "Why would Dumbledore allow him to work at Hogwarts? Unless, he's not a deatheater here?"
She fell back into her chair. These new revelations troubled her. How could she go to Hogwarts when Dumbledore wasn't even there? Especially since Snape, a known blood thirsty Deatheater in her world, held the position of Headmaster? Where else could she go? She knew that since she was in this world, that the Ginny of this dimension had to have passed away, therefore she wasn't even considering the thought of going home. How would that look? A corpse walking straight into their house? No. She couldn't go home. But where?
With a loud growl from her stomach, she decided for the immediate future, the only thing she needed to worry about was finding something to eat. She searched the cabinets and to her dismay she came up with nothing. As she suspected, the house had been vacant for some time. She didn't want to risk magic. She didn't have anywhere to go. She supposed she could venture into muggle London, however she didn't know if she would be able to get back into Grimmauld Place, with never having actually received the password in this world.
Realizing her one and only choice was to leave Grimmauld, she decided that she might as well get everything over with. She was going to Hogwarts. However, she didn't want to waltz right in the front doors where everyone could see her.
"Gryffindor Tower." She said aloud. Nodding to herself, she knew it was her only choice. She looked outside through one of the windows to try and judge what time of night it was. "They'll all be sleeping." She muttered again. It may not have been the greatest plan of action and might not even work, but it was the only thing she had.
Ginny went back into the kitchen. She patted the top of her stomach, feeling the secret pocket inside her robes. Reassured her wand was safe, she placed her hand into the cup of Floo Powder and took a pinch of powder. She threw the pinch into the fireplace and said "Here goes nothing. GRYFFINDOR TOWER!" and stepped into the green flames.
After the feeling of being pushed through a large drain subsided, she finally felt solid ground beneath her. After a brief thought of how lucky she was for it to have worked, she looked out upon the semi-darkened Gryffindor Tower. What she laid her eyes upon however, was the very last thing she suspected. She knew it was possible, but it still shocked her to her core.
Stepping out of the fire place, Ginny locked eyes with the only living soul in the room. Her long dead brother, Ronald Weasley.
Author's Note: Yes, another short chapter. Like I said, I promise longer chapters are on the way! Review!